NEW DELHI: The Election Commission on Wednesday announced two-phased polls in Gujarat on December 9 and 14, setting the stage for a direct contest between the BJP and Congress. He clarified that the Commission, while deciding the poll schedule, had taken into consideration many factors including the unprecedented rainfall and floods that hit 7 districts of Gujarat in July and August, leading to 229 deaths. "EC always gives due weightage to requests sent by the state governments," he said.He said there had been lots of progress in flood relief works over the past 13 days. "Not all works and projects are complete. "Since 2014 onwards, the gap has been less than 21 days also, or may be slightly more," he added.

Source: Times of India October 25, 2017 14:44 UTC